October is Pastor Appreciation Month! In this fourth part of our series, we celebrate Pastor Tan Kim Hock, Pastor Lily Yong, and Pastor Sun Aizhen.
Pastor Tan Kim Hock is the Academic Dean of City Harvest’s School of Theology, while his wife Pastor Lily Yong is the pastor of Jesus for All Minds (JAMS) which serves the intellectually-challenged. They have been married for 23 years and are parents of four boys.
Originally from Taiwan, Pastor Sun Aizhen pastors the congregation from the Chinese Service.
These pastors bring the love of Christ to those outside CHC’s main service. We invited their ministry leaders, cell group leaders and staff members to answer three questions about them.
PASTOR TAN KIM HOCK, AS DESCRIBED BY DORCAS XU
Pastor Kim Hock with Dorcas
1. The most sacrificial thing my Pastor has done…There is more than one! First, all the car rides that he offers! After a tiring day of lecturing at SOT and meeting various SOT students, answering their questions and counselling them, he would often drop us off near our homes—he would drive us from Jurong West and drop us off at various places in the East.
After overnight prayer meetings which end at 5am, he would also look out for us and offer to drive us home in the early morning. These car rides may not sound like much, but he would always entertain all our questions during the ride, and that made a huge difference to us. From light-hearted questions about food to questions about how to minister to our members or how to conduct ministry. He would even counsel us when we are struggling. These car rides often meant more work for him, yet he kept offering them.
2. One thing my pastor always says is… “It’s okay.” So simple, yet so profound. It’s okay to take it slow, it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s okay to drop me a text, it’s okay—I’m not too busy to answer your question, it’s okay to feel this way, it’s okay we can think of how to solve this.
All these “it’s okay”s remind me that our Heavenly Father is really okay that we fail, that we are weak, that we may be afraid, that we have doubts, and that we don’t know how to do certain things. This makes us human, and humans need God. We just need to cling to God, take things one step at a time, overcome one obstacle at a time, and keep trusting, knowing God is always there as we walk on in life, as we persevere in what He called us to do. Pastor Kim Hock is a constant reminder of that.
3. I’ll never forget when Pastor said…something honest to my face. There was a season in my life when I was struggling with some issues, and I had many thoughts on my mind. I couldn’t seem to break free of them and decided to ask Pastor Kim Hock some of those questions on one of those car rides.
After I finished sharing, I was feeling quite emotional, but Pastor Kim Hock replied as a matter of fact, “Dorcas, your mind is so weak; you have to discipline your thoughts.” And that was about all that he said. At that moment, I was shocked by his honest answer, yet I realised that what he said was true. Those words marked the start of my breakthrough and helped set me free. Over the years, what he said has stayed with me, through many ups and downs, and brought forth other breakthroughs in my life.
PASTOR LILY YONG, AS DESCRIBED BY ZOE YUE
Pastor Lily (left) with Zoe
1. If my Pastor was a superhero, she would be…Superwoman! She always does her best to fulfil our JAMs members’ dreams. For example, she would bake cakes for our members for Christmas. As a mother of four sons, she always does her best to meet her children’s needs. As a wife, she does her best to cook healthy meals and makes sure her husband, Pastor Kim Hock takes good supplements. As a cell group leader, she is always gentle and shows her concern for us. She is always there for us when we are in crisis.
2. An extremely dangerous experience my pastor had…was when she had a car accident on the expressway. Her tire was punctured while she was driving on the expressway, and she had to stop the car and put up the hazard sign. A vehicle coming from behind failed to see the sign and crashed into her car. Pastor Lily was inside the car with her sister and aunt—thankfully they were not injured.
3. My pastor would never…make a promise that she cannot fulfil. She is always be honest with us if she cannot attend to us and she would arrange to meet us another time.
PASTOR SUN AIZHEN, AS DESCRIBED BY YAP LEE SANG
Pastor Aizhen (right) with Lee Sang
1. What drink do I always order for my pastor… coffee! And I must always order more than one.
2. The most misunderstood thing about my pastor is…she doesn’t look like someone who reads a lot, but she is. She is also very good at speed reading.
3. I’ll never forget when Pastor said… “visit your loved ones and spend more time with them, especially your elderly parents, because they are getting older and will leave you one day. Do it more often, so that you will have no regrets later.” These words constantly remind me that family is important, and that we should not take them for granted. We cannot be too busy with work or ministry, or neglect our family.
